How to Make the Most of Your Next Focus Group

First, video it if you can. 

Every good researcher videos the focus group.  This is because a focus group is a psychological experiment and you will have to use your ability to read and understand human behavior.  The info you gather will need to be interpreted, and having a recording of the group really, really helps.

Second, come up with good questions. 

Lots of them. Then, PRIORITIZE your questions, because a good focus groups almost always runs over time. To come up with good questions, think about what you want to know in order to make decisions.  So, think first of all the decisions you have to make. Then, think about what you would like to know to help you make a better decision. Then, think what you would like to know from the target audience that might provide that info. 

Third, let the conversation flow.

While you need to have your questions prepared, at the same time, be ready to let the conversation flow and be more free form in order to get at the "whys" behind the answers your participants give.  Again, its psychological - you want to know the rational AND, more importantly, emotional reasons people behave a certain way.

Finally, remember success relies on your skills to interpret & understand human behavior.

If you don't know how to do this, hire a professional who can.  Participants will not be able to articulate the "whys" behind their behavior very often.  You will have to draw it out of them with questions that will flow from the answers they give.

Does your social media strategy convert customers?

Drilling in on Social Conversion Strategies - The Conversion Scientist

A great blog post by Brian Massey who really gets how to think about and use social media tools to help drive your business.  This is about thinking through your social media strategy as part of the entire marketing funnel from awareness to referral.  Check it out:

Drilling in on Social Conversion Strategies

Is Social Networking Right for Your Business? - NYTimes.com

Is Social Networking Right for Your Business? - NYTimes.com

Q. You are considering whether to start a social networking effort on behalf of your company. Can that kind of exposure be beneficial?

A. In many cases, it can be. As an employee, you are an extension of your company and can enhance its brand by connecting with current and potential customers on sites likeFacebook and Twitter, as well as through blogs. Social media can be a powerful tool for listening to customers and building a reputation for responsive service, says David Nour, chief executive of the Nour Group, a business development consultancy in Atlanta, and author of “Relationship Economics.” “You get real-time feedback and can engage with customers quickly to answer questions or help them solve problems.”

If your company is about to release a new product or service, for example, social media can spread the word and increase your reach exponentially, he says.

Read The Article in the NYTimes Here.

Do you need more traffic or just more of the right traffic?

Often start-ups and small businesses evaluate their web site based on a few key metrics: 

Traffic

Time on Site

Bounce Rate

and of course Conversion.

These are all good metrics to use to understand the quality and quantity of your web site traffic and the performance of your web site.  But which one is most important?  The answer often depends on the goals of the company or organization.   For almost every brand though, Conversion is the primary focus. 

And that's great, but remember that in its simplest form Conversion is made up of two variables:  # of visitors and # of converted visitors.  The reason I bring this up is because many marketing managers and CEOs focus on the second variable.  I encourage you to always be evaluating your traffic-driving techniques in terms of driving qualified traffic only, and really work to actually bring the first number (# of visitors) down.

Down?

Yes.  More traffic is not always better. In fact, more can be worse because it costs your more in terms of advertising and customer service. It essentially drives up your overall marketing cost of customer acquisition and drives down your conversion rate. 

Drive qualified traffic by refining your advertising and outbound marketing efforts to engage your target audience as best as possible.  It takes more work up front to find the right sites, keywords,  etc., but it will pay you back in form of lower costs and a better-performing site.

Need help evaluating your marketing programs or web site?  Email me.

Free E-Book on Real Time Marketing & PR

Check out David Meerman Scott's newest free e-book on real time marketing.

From the book:

"As financial market players know, advantage comes from reacting to news first. The same thing is true for all companies. When you start the conversation, you are recognized as someone who is plugged into the marketplace of ideas. If you talk about an idea early, you naturally get more exposure because the threads of conversation stem from what you have said. If you’re in late you get lost in the cacophony.

With a new product, if you get first to market in a hot category, your initial momentum may give you an
advantage for many years. If you’re an early adopter on a social media platform, you build a larger following
than those who join later. If you’re first to engage the market, people notice and your offering gains valuable
attention. If you react early and connect with customers as their concerns arise, they see you as thoughtful
and caring."